Growing National Debt
The national debt in the US is growing with each passing day, and you may be surprised to know that it has grown by more than a trillion dollars in the last one year. The mainstream media might not think of this as a major issue, but the reality is that the debt levels in the US are alarming. The spending policies of the government combined with a lack of strong will to tackle this issue have brought the matters to a precarious stage. According to Jim Rickards, America has around $17.5 trillion of debt currently. The notion that debt could be used to give a boost to a stagnant economy is no longer working, and we have reached a stage where this complex system of bringing in more money is only going to boomerang.
Employment
While the mainstream media is busy telling people how the employment scenario in the US is constantly improving, the reality on the ground is different. If we compare the current employment statistics with that of the recession, we will notice that the patterns are pretty much similar. Before recession hit America in 2007, around 63% of all employable Americans had a job. As we headed closer to the recession, the percentage dropped to below 59, and stayed there for some time. In the recent past, the employment percentage has increased a bit, but one can’t call it a recovery in any sense. According to Jim Rickards, the ‘real’ unemployment rate today is close to around 23%.
The Velocity of Money
For an economy to stay strong, money needs to flow through the system. However, the velocity of money is low in the US right now. Despite the enormous printing of money, the people are not really borrowing or spending it. In fact, according to experts, the velocity of M2 money has dropped to its lowest ever. This is a cause of concern for many economists like Jim Rickards, but the mainstream media has chosen to ignore this completely. But, as the bubble bursts, which it will in 2015, these are the very things that every economist will point to in hindsight.
Outsourcing of Manufacturing Jobs
Big businesses have outsourced most of the manufacturing jobs out of the country. Big manufacturing cities in the US now struggle to allot resources for maintaining their basic infrastructure. Earlier, most people who wanted to work could find employment easily in the manufacturing sector, but the situation is completely different now. The loss of manufacturing jobs has hit the US economy hard, and years of neglect has only worsened the situation. The loss of manufacturing jobs is another important factor for the 25 year Great Depression that Jim Rickards is talking about.
Slow Home Sales
Another reason for the great depression for 2015 can be the slow pace of home sales in the US. Again, the mainstream media might make you believe that the housing market is in a recovery mode, but the fact of the matter is that the home sales are nowhere comparable to the pre-recession figures. The current home sales are around the 5,200,000 mark — which is similar to what it was at the turn of this century.
These are a few factors that make the case for the 25 year Great Depression strong. If an economic collapse happens in 2015, we will have to brace ourselves for some really tough times. However, we should also keep in mind that there are people who made money before the 2007 recession, and these were the people who could see the tide coming. They were armed with the right information which helped them make the right investment decisions before the recession wrecked havoc on the global economy. If you believe that the above mentioned factors can bring down the curtains on our economy next year, we recommend you too work to safeguard your interests. And, act before it’s too late.
